Angelina Jolie stepped out in Australia over the weekend looking scary skinny. Her thin arms sparked concerns of substantial weight loss for the slender star, but Jolie didn’t give any indication there was a problem to paparazzi. The A-lister smiled for cameras while she shopped in Queensland with her 5-year-old twins, Vivienne and Knox.

It’s been a difficult year for Jolie when it comes to her health. She announced last May that she had undergone a preventative double mastectomy after doctors found a faulty gene which put her at risk of breast and ovarian cancer. Jolie made the shocking revelation in an OpEd piece published in TheNew York Times.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt arrive for the world premiere of his film "World War Z" in London June 2, 2013. This is Angelina's first public appearance since her double mastectomy.

"Once I knew this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and minimize the risk as much as I could," she wrote. "I made a decision to have a preventative double mastectomy. I wanted to write this to tell other woman that the decision to have a mastectomy was not easy. But it is one I am very happy I made." With the surgery, Angelina's chances of developing breast cancer have dropped from 87 to 5 percent.

Luckily, Jolie said she was able to rely heavily on Pitt throughout the process. "To anyone who has a wife or girlfriend going through this, know that you are a very important part of the transition," she said. "Brad was at the Pink Lotus Breast Center, where I was treated, for every minute of the surgeries. We managed to find moments to laugh together. We knew this was the right decision for our family and that it would bring us closer."

Angelina Jolie revealed she had a double masectomy and reconstructive surgery after learning she carried a gene that increased her odds of developing breast cancer to 87 percent. She hopes her story will empower women in similar circumstances.

Ultimately, Angelina's decision to have the big surgery was for the sake of her children. "It is reassuring that [the kids] see nothing that makes them uncomfortable," she revealed. "They can see my small scars and that's it. Everything else is just Mommy, the same as she always was. And they know that I love them and will do anything to be with them as long as I can."

Jolie will also make her long-awaited return to the movies next year, taking on the title role in fantasy thriller Maleficent. It marks her first movie role since 2010’s The Tourist. She will also direct the upcoming World War II drama Unbroken.